Queen Christina
The first biopic to depict the queer Queen Christina of Sweden stars none other than sapphic icon Greta Garbo. The film highly dramatizes the Swedish queen’s life and veers considerably from that of the real Christina, most notably in the addition of a fictional romance with Antonio Pimentel de Prado (John Gilbert). Since the Hays Code was in effect though not yet strictly enforced, like many other films from the pre-Code period, Queen Christina manages to get away with plenty of queer-coded sequences. Austrian actress Salka Viertel, who had a close friendship with Garbo, contributed to the screenplay.

Preceded by
Queen Christina Costume Test

Camille
Adapted from the semi-biographical novel La dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas, Camille stars Greta Garbo as Marguerite Gautier, the courtesan with a heart of gold in an ill-fated romance with Armand Duval (Robert Taylor). Camille was Garbo’s first teaming with director George Cukor, and her performance earned her a third Academy Award–nomination for Best Actress. Zoe Akins, who was reportedly a part of the queer Hollywood circles of the time, contributed to the screenplay.